Beginner kumite : need best effective combination

[goedikey]

Good day,

 

My Karate is shotokan and we are practicing light/med contact kumite.

 

I am currently green belt.

 

My perfromance in Kihon and Kata is very good and am pretty well fit.

 

My problems is that I am very bad at fighting and I am scared as *.

 

I have been in about 4 fights since my white belt.

 

My usual partner is very tall and more experienced.

 

Cold someone point me to a direction which could lead me to hit at least once starting from a basic fighting stance ?

 

So far, I have only been able to lauch a few mae geri's and to make a feint and move in with a punch but without success.

 

Id get flooded with kicks and punches knocking me down off balance.

 

I need to know if I should keep my front kee aligned to his front knee, if I should slide or step in(or both), kick+punch or fein+kick+punch or whatever...

 

I bet that a few weel placed mae geris will probably do nest time but I am not sure....

 

My mawashi is gwetting better but not good enough for fighting yet.

 

i know its hard to answer but thanks for trying !

[BJJShotoshe]

Hello!

 

I am also in Shotokan Karate, I am currently a Second Purple Belt. I will try to help you in two ways. Since you are in a different Dojo than I, I do not know what the requirements are for your kumite. In our dojo, we are not allowed take downs until my level, but in yours it might be different. So here I go.

 

First off: If you are not allowed take downs and even if you are, the best thing to do is get to your opponents back side, that way you are out of the danger of their hands and feet, but still be cautious.

 

Second (No take downs): The mawashi-uke is the best block to learn and use. If you are unable to perform the mawashi uke a simple Soto ude-uke will do. These blocks are just to get the first punch out of the way, if they attack with their foot, you may use a Gedan-Barai. This is important, to get the first punch or kick out of the way, but watch the other hand or foot.

 

Third (still no take downs): If you would like to go to the inside a Mawashi-uke will work as well! Once you are inside you have various options. What you use is up to you. I would suggest a mae-geri then a quick Oi-Zuki, try to execute this punch even before you set your foot down. (Hands before feet are good).

 

Fourth (Both no take downs, and take downs): Bunkai!!!!!!! If you study Bunkai you are in like flinn. At my academy, Bunkai is not studied. But, if you know some, use it! Bunkai can lead to take downs and it can lead to simple counter punches and kicks. Bunkai is a big one!

 

Fifth, and last (with take downs): If you are allowed take downs, there are a couple options. Bunkai and the following techniques. I don't know if you have ever studied BJJ or any simple take downs but, theses take downs are fairly easy. Use hip throws, shoulder throws, chokes (not a take down, but it works), and leg throws, <-- not recomended, only used in desperate situations and you as well could get injured.

 

Well thats pretty much it. I have shared some of my knowlege with you, I hope at least one thing comes in handy.

 

Train Hard

 

Never Give Up

 

Have Confidence!!!

[goedikey]

thanks a lot !

 

Mawashi uke sounds good to me.I checed it out on google.

 

I wonder why it hasnt been mentionned in my classes yet.

 

I have seen some poeple do this but never caught my attention.

 

It seemed like good fighting experience to me.

 

Bunkai, yes we study. I am interested in the pulling/grappling side but am yet to pull it off in a fight. I do manage to grab my opponents kicking foot sometimes, taking him down.

 

My worst fear are the kicks. I am really pissed about getting kicked in the stomach and cannot understand hoe one could deflect a full fledged mawashi or mae geri while in fighting stance.

[ramymensa]

Give yourself some time and work with someone that understands your fears. I was as scared as you and got a very nice BB to work with me. She let me land some techniques and showed me when I could get hit by landing a smooth hit just to let me see I was vulnerable. After this "treatment" I was more positive about kumite and me and my techniqes.

 

Time solves all problems ... and hard work

[shotochem]

Once again I'm with Ramy. You need to work with a partner that will work with you. The best person to work with is one who will point out your weaknesses and help you to improve. Do not worry about winning at sparring unless its a tournament. Once you forget about trying to win it will start to come naturally. Try to work on your weaknesses and improve. This will help you to become a betterfighter. Find out what works for you. It takes time and effort. I still learn something new every time I spar.

 

The place to learn and improve is the dojo among friends, not on the street where you may only get one chance to avoid being injured.

[yamesu]

front leg round house(thigh), front hand jab, back hand punch, backleg round house kick (body-head)

 

drill this untill it becomes QUICK.

 

Osu.

[aefibird]

Once again I'm with Ramy.

 

Me too. I also agree with shotochem's advice.

 

Try and find someone in your club who is friendly, approachable and willing to work with you. Start off slow, with simple combinations and work up from there.

 

If your regular partner keeps on overwhelming you every time you spar, then maybe you should have a word to your instructor about it. Your sparring partner may not even realise that you aren't very confident with fighting yet. If you tell your instructor about the situation he/she will probably be able to help you.

 

Also, keep practicng set combinations at home. Train in these until you can do them 'in your sleep'. If you have certain combos that you can do without thinking then this will help you as you start to learn to fight.

 

Practice moving about too. If you're a frightened stationary target it will be much easier for your opponent to land a flurry of blows on you. Im not saying that you should leap about the room when you're fighing, however staying in one spot isn't always a good plan either.

 

Good luck with your training. Starting off learning to spar isn't always easy and can even be quite frightening, especially if you start with a big powerful opponent. However, keep going and I'm sure that you'll pick it up soon and even start to enjoy it!